Nonresident Senior Fellow for North Africa at the Atlantic Council and author of The Algerian Dream, Andrew Farrand's analyses have appeared in numerous publications including DAWN’s Democracy in Exile, the New Yorker, and Middle East Eye. He has specialised on Algeria for over a decade and lived there between 2013 and 2020. In this exclusive interview, he describes what he perceives are the primary barriers stopping those in the West from getting a better understanding of Algeria. 

Having advised governments, journalists, businesses and development professionals, what, in your experience, is the typical 'American view' of Algeria?

In my book I describe how every Algerian visitor to the US invariably encounters an American who's never heard of their country. When they say they're from Algeria, the usual responses are either "Nigeria?" or "Algeria? Where's that?" Most Americans couldn't find Algeria on a map, in large part because of the limited historical, commercial, and cultural ties.

Americans who do know Algeria most often know it from a historical perspective. Perhaps they've watched The Battle of Algiers, read about the liberation struggle, or remember the conflict in the 1990s. But few have any idea what Algeria is like today. Before traveling, I struggled to find any recent books on the country. There wasn't an updated tourist guidebook. It was as if Algeria's story had stopped in 1962!

And then there are the headlines. Media usually place Algeria in wider narratives about the Middle East that don’t always paint an accurate picture. Its government is compared to Egypt’s, its protests to the Arab Spring, and so on. Taking these comparisons too far betrays a faulty understanding of what is a distinct part of the world with its own dynamics and history.

You lived in Algeria for close to 10 years - how did your time there challenge these notions?

There's no better way to get to know a country than to live there and meet the people. The first thing I learned was that familiarity with Algeria's history is necessary but not sufficient to understand the country today. Certainly the liberation struggle, the Black Decade, and other key periods profoundly shape the present, but contemporary Algeria is so much more. In such a young country, history can't tell the whole story.

Nor do Algerians necessarily view themselves in the same terms as outsiders. We may have ideas about what an ‘Arab country’ is like, but the truth is Algerians don’t see themselves as part of the Middle East and often resist fitting into the mould.

I also learned that Americans' ignorance of Algeria is no accident. The Algerian government makes little effort at public relations or promoting tourism. There are many reasons, from distrust of the West to national pride and more. But the end result is that Algeria fades into invisibility. And most of the time, Algeria's leaders prefer it this way.

We've been living, for some time now, in an age of information where knowledge can be accessed instantly and language barriers overcome with the click of a button. Given this, why hasn't the perception of Algeria changed?

Algeria is largely inaccessible in the realms of journalism and academia. The Algerian government permits few foreign journalists to enter and has a long history of squabbling with the press.

Sometimes that's for good reason—reading international coverage, it's easy to see that journalists don't understand the place well. In major American outlets, Algeria is covered infrequently and this means that when it is deemed significant, the journalist – often based in Beirut or Cairo – has a lot to catch up on. It’s unrealistic for a reporter to learn years of news in a matter of days, and this type of helicopter journalism undoubtedly has its shortfalls. But then again, what’s the alternative if they’re rarely permitted to visit?

Academic researchers have similar difficulty obtaining visas. I know several specialists who are effectively barred for life from the country, simply because their publications didn't fit the government's narrative. As a result, contemporary Algeria is vastly understudied; if journalism and academia work hand-in-hand, both sides of this symbiosis are partly broken.

What, in your opinion, needs to happen for a change to take place and are there any promising signs?

Many of these factors stem from Algerian leaders' desire to steer the narrative about the country's past, present, and future. It's fed by a legacy of secrecy and mistrust within the ranks of the Algerian state, which traces its origins to a clandestine insurgency after all.

It's hard to imagine that culture changing rapidly but I hope, with the passage of time, Algeria will see younger leaders who understand that it isn't compatible with today's technologies. In the years ahead, it would be great to see Algeria taking steps to publish more statistics, to allow public opinion polling, to increase freedom of expression, and open up its information space.

There are few signs of such changes today, but the Hirak popular uprising of 2019 was a reminder that suppressing statistics on social problems doesn't make them disappear.

Given structural limitations with the way Algeria is reported on and understood, what is your advice to those seeking to build expertise on the country?

For the reasons I've outlined Algeria is a difficult place to specialize in, but it's very rewarding if you're able to. The first key is finding a way to experience the country first hand. There's no substitute for it.

Second, take Algeria as it is, not as we want it to be. That means examining all aspects of the country, since they are interconnected. If you ignore football because you're not a sports fan, underestimate the importance of Islam because you're not religious, or discount the country's founding ideals because you're a diehard realist, your mental model of how it works will never be accurate.

Third, resist the temptation to over-compare. Many data points in Algeria might resemble others from the MENA region, but the country's historical trajectory is quite singular. Relying too heavily on comparative analysis can warp one's model.

Fourth, fixating on the shortage of credible data on Algeria can lead us to miss the obvious; there's actually a plethora of information in the state press agency, Journal Officiel, and other public sources that remains understudied.

Finally, stay humble. Never forget that Algeria is a vast and complex country that even Algerians struggle to understand. As foreigners, we shouldn’t expect to do better. But by seeking to know the place, we can help chip away at the gulf of misunderstanding and ignorance that separates it from the rest of the world.

Andrew G. Farrand is a Nonresident Senior Fellow for North Africa at the Atlantic Council. Proficient in Arabic and French, he has specialised in Algeria for over 10 years, and published The Algerian Dream in 2021. He blogs at ibnibnbattuta.com.